BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Consumer Rights Bill

Jennifer Willott: Today the Government are introducing the Consumer Rights Bill. This Bill is a fundamental reform of consumer legislation so that consumers’ and businesses’ key rights and responsibilities are clear, easily understood and updated to take account of purchases involving digital content. It contains important new protections for consumers alongside measures to lower regulatory burdens for business, all with the aim of making markets work better, which is good for consumers, good for business and therefore good for growth.
	Alongside the Bill, the Government are publishing a Command Paper, which includes the Government’s response to each of the recommendations made by the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee. We are very grateful to the Committee for their detailed pre-legislative scrutiny. A copy of that Command Paper can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ consumer-rights-bill.

Land Registry

Michael Fallon: The Department has today launched a consultation around proposals to help Land Registry deliver more efficient and modern services.
	Land Registry is responsible for keeping and maintaining details of the ownership of land and property in England and Wales.
	Government believe that changing Land Registry’s commercial model by separating policy and delivery of services between two entities could have a number of benefits and enable it to move more successfully into the digital age.
	The proposal is to create a new company, still subject to Government oversight, which would be responsible for delivering land registration services. A separate Office of the Chief Land Registrar would be retained in Government to carry out regulatory and fee-setting functions.
	This model could allow a greater focus on service delivery, greater operational flexibility around pay, recruitment and possibly provide other services and a more clearly defined relationship with Government.
	Land Registry is currently moving into a new phase as it embarks on a new business strategy designed to deliver significant benefits for customers, including:
	Making more land registration services available online, this should reduce processing times, risk of error and the costs of registration;
	Delivering more efficient services, including creating a centralised access point for local land charge searches;
	Maximising the reuse of property data for the benefit of the economy.
	As Land Registry moves into this new phase, it is critical that the business has the right commercial model to best deliver these benefits to its customers and the wider economy.
	No decision on ownership and control of this new service delivery company has been made, and several options are being considered. The Government will ensure that Land Registry customers and the integrity of the register will continue to be protected following the outcome of the consultation.
	The consultation will close on 20 March 2014. I am placing a copy of the consultation in the Library of the House.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013

Helen Grant: The Government have today published a consultation paper on the future of civil partnership in England and Wales. This is the full public consultation required under section 15 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The Government will consider responses to the consultation alongside evidence about marriage of same sex couples, civil partnership and possible options for the future.
	The consultation document is available on the Culture, Media and Sport website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-future-of-civil-partnership-in-england-and-wales

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Gift of Equipment (Syria)

William Hague: It is now over two years since the Syrian conflict began and the situation remains catastrophic. Our estimates are that over 100,000 people have been killed, with more than half of the Syrian population now in need of humanitarian assistance. The UK is committed to doing all it can to promote a political settlement to the conflict and to alleviate the humanitarian suffering.
	My statements to the House on 11 November 2013 and 13 January 2014 outlined the intensive political and practical support we are providing to the national coalition to alleviate suffering inside Syria. As a part of this work, the UK is supporting emerging moderate local governance structures in opposition-held areas to improve the delivery of services to local communities. We plan to expand a UK-funded pilot project to train and equip local council civil defence teams in northern Syria, enabling them to provide search and rescue, fire-fighting and first-aid services in areas under attack. This project is carried out in co-operation with the National Coalition’s Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) and builds on earlier deliveries of civil resilience equipment to local councils through the ACU.
	The departmental minute laid today sets out in detail our plans to gift further civil defence equipment to local council teams in Syria as part of the expanded project. This gift will consist of sets of equipment for nine 25-man teams, including commercially available personal radios, cutting and rescue tools, uniforms and protective gear such as fire helmets and goggles, fire extinguishers, stretchers and individual medical kits. The total cost of the proposed gift is approximately £700,000, which will be met by the Government’s conflict pool fund. The overall value of the uplift to the project is £2.1 million, which includes training for nine teams of approximately 25 people, a communications campaign, support for mechanics to repair and restore fire-fighting vehicles, and crisis management training for governorate level council, police and civil defence leaders.
	The equipment will help local communities deal with the aftermath of attacks, improve the service delivery capability and legitimacy of local councils and assist them in saving the lives of those injured and in alleviating humanitarian suffering. It will also underline the UK’s continued support to the moderate opposition.
	The use of conflict pool funds to cover the costs of the gift has been approved by members of the conflict pool strategic programme board from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development and Ministry of Defence. The gift has been scrutinised to ensure that the provision of this equipment is consistent with export controls and complies with our international obligations. Recipients have been carefully selected to prevent equipment being given to those involved in extremist activities or human rights violations. All our assistance is carefully calibrated and legal, is aimed at alleviating human suffering and supporting moderate groups and is regularly monitored and evaluated.
	The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle. If, during the period of 14 parliamentary sitting days beginning on the date on which the departmental minute was laid before the House of Commons, a Member signifies an objection by giving notice of a parliamentary question or a motion relating to the minute, or by otherwise raising the matter in the House, final approval of the gift will be withheld pending an examination of the objection.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Theresa May: I would like to inform the House that changes have been made to the arrangements for publishing reports of the independent chief inspector for borders and immigration. The reports prepared by the chief inspector will from today be laid before Parliament in order to bring the process into line with the current legislation.
	There is a requirement under section 50 of the UK Borders Act 2007 for the Home Secretary to lay copies of the reports of the independent chief inspector before Parliament. This requirement has only recently
	been brought to my notice and therefore, in order to comply with the legislation, I will now be laying the reports I receive from the chief inspector before Parliament.
	This change in process will ensure that the requirements of the legislation are fulfilled but there is no change to the independence of the chief inspector and the work done by his office. The only amendment I may make to the reports that I receive are through the provision for redacting material on the grounds of national security or an individual’s safety in section 50 (3) of the 2007 Act.
	All reports will continue to be available on the chief inspector’s website once they have been laid before Parliament.
	Today two reports are being laid before Parliament; the first one is a report on the short notice inspection of a sham marriage enforcement operation and the second is report on an inspection of Border Force operations at Stansted airport. Neither of these reports contains redactions.
	Copies of both of these reports are available in the Vote Office.

Scotland Analysis (Borders and Citizenship)

Theresa May: I am today laying before the House the 10th paper in the Government’s Scotland analysis programme, “Scotland analysis: Borders and citizenship”. This series of publications is designed to inform the debate on Scotland’s future within the United Kingdom ahead of this year’s referendum.
	This paper analyses the UK’s framework for managing its common external border, considers the benefits of an absence of internal borders within the UK, as well as the implications for both if people in Scotland vote for independence. It also considers the impact that Scottish independence may have on issues of citizenship.
	The paper sets out the importance of borders and the considerations that states around the world must take into account when determining how to manage their borders. It then analyses the UK’s internal and external borders, and examines the current framework for managing the UK’s external border.
	The paper then considers the UK’s policies and systems for managing the movement of people into the UK, both for short-term visits and economic migration. It sets out some of the issues that the Government of an independent Scottish state may have to consider when determining how to manage the movement of people into and out of an independent Scotland.
	It also assesses how the movement of goods, both legal and illegal, between Scotland and the UK could be impacted if Scotland became an independent state, and the challenges this could pose for the Governments of both the continuing UK and an independent Scottish state.
	Finally, the paper also considers the question of citizenship and how an independent Scottish state may define its own citizenship policy. It then analyses the impact on the citizenship of the continuing UK if Scotland became an independent state.
	Future papers from the Scotland analysis programme will be published over the course of 2014 to ensure that people in Scotland have access to the facts and information ahead of the referendum.
	Copies of the paper are available in the Vote Office.

JUSTICE

EU Treaties

Chris Grayling: The Ministry of Justice and the Home Office have prepared the fourth annual report to Parliament on the application of protocols 19 and 21 to the treaty on European Union (TEU) and the treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (“the treaties”) in relation to EU Justice and Home Affairs matters. The report is submitted on behalf of both my own Department and the Home Office.
	On 9 June 2008 the then Leader of the House of Lords committed to table a report in Parliament each year setting out the decisions taken by the Government in accordance with protocol 21 (“the Justice and Home Affairs opt-in protocol”) and to make that report available for debate. These commitments were designed to ensure that the views of the Scrutiny Committees should inform the Government’s decision-making process.
	The Minister for Europe confirmed this commitment on behalf of the coalition Government in 2011, and this is the fourth such report. It covers the period 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2013. For completeness, the report also covers the application of protocol 19 to the treaties on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the EU (“the Schengen opt-out protocol”).
	Over the period covered in the report, the Government took 21 decisions on UK participation in EU Justice and Home Affairs legislative proposals. Of these, the UK opted in to 13 proposals. The Government have not taken any decisions under the Schengen opt-out protocol during the period covered by this report. At the point of publication, 11 EU legislative proposals are subject to ministerial and parliamentary consideration with regard to an opt-in decision. The report also provides an indicative list of legislative proposals which are expected to be brought forward over the next 12 months that are likely to require a decision on UK participation under the Justice and Home Affairs opt-in or Schengen opt-out protocols.

PRIME MINISTER

Machinery of Government Change: CANparent Trial

David Cameron: This written ministerial statement confirms responsibility for the CANparent trial and associated market development contract will transfer from the Department for Education to the Department of Health on 1 April 2014 for one year. Responsibility for parenting policy will remain with the Department for Education.

TRANSPORT

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme

Robert Goodwill: The Dartford-Thurrock crossing charging scheme account for 2012-13 is published today under section 3(1)(d) of the Trunk Road Charging Schemes (Bridges and Tunnels) (Keeping of Accounts) (England) Regulations 2003. A copy of the accounts will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Pensions

Steve Webb: This Government are committed to tackling high charges in workplace pension schemes, in particular, for those workers who do not exercise any choice, where they are automatically enrolled into a scheme then remain in the default fund.
	Our consultation on pension scheme charging closed at the end of November. We continue to examine the responses, and will bring forward further proposals, in due course. However, one strong theme to emerge is about the timing for the implementation of any changes.
	We remain strongly minded to cap pension scheme charges in the default funds used for automatic enrolment. However, we have consistently encouraged firms to start getting ready for automatic enrolment 12 months ahead of the time the new employer duties apply to them. Therefore, to give those employers at least 12 months’ notice of the rules that will apply to them, I can confirm that any cap on charges will not be introduced before April 2015.